11 April 2013

Germany: inept technology, politically dishonest

German technology failing, indicative of corrupt political culture--Of all of Germany's bungled projects, the Berlin airport is the biggest embarrassment - Berlin's new airport stands empty, unused--tens of thousands of technical problems. Among them: Officials can't even figure out how to turn the lights off. . . the result of a computer system that's so sophisticated it's almost impossible to operate. . . . And the system's underground vent system, designed to suck away smoke, isn't working. Here, again, technology's getting in the way: It's so advanced that technicians can't figure out what's wrong with it....The new Berlin airport--a technology and political embarrassment for Germany, is indicative of deeper "structural" problems--" . . . Underlying these problems appears to be a culture of political dishonesty. . . ."To get these expensive projects started, they artificially calculate down the real costs to get permission from parliament or other committees in charge.". . . The politicians are more concerned about winning the next elections than devoting their service to the people." Sound familiar? Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/07/v-fullstory/3328187/berlins-airport-project-delays.html#storylink=cpy

H-1B visa lottery leaves 40,000 skilled foreign workers out of luck - SiliconValley.com: "Nearly 40,000 skilled foreign workers offered jobs in the United States are out of luck after the U.S. immigration agency received too many applications for H-1B visas. After being flooded with about 124,000 applications in five days, but having only 85,000 visas to give each year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ran a computer-generated lottery on Sunday to randomly award the available visas."Chinese Smartphone Maker Xiaomi Ups Specs, Adds TV Box - Forbes: "As for Xiaomi, its smartphones are priced at RMB1,999 ($322), which is considerably cheaper than an iPhone or Galaxy S4. Its biggest challenge is avoiding a price squeeze by cheaper phones churned out by the likes of ZTE and Huawei"Latest Microsoft ads, regulatory assault on Google underscores shift in ...Washington PostSAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft is skewering Google again with ads and regulatory bashing that say as much about the dramatic shift in the technology industry's competitive landscape as they do about the animosity between the two rivals. The ads that began ...

What Would Apple-Yahoo Deal Spell?InformationWeekYahoo has plenty of its own reasons to seek stronger ties with Apple. Unlike Google andMicrosoft, Yahoo doesn't have a mobile operating system to call its own. Without a platform, Yahoo needs to strike partnerships with the big mobile providers if it ...

Google Leads App Downloads, Apple Cashes InInformationWeekIt shouldn't come as a surprise that Apple and Google own the vast bulk of those downloads, with BlackBerry and Microsoft distant competitors at best. In total download volume, Google wins with 51%. Apple is not far behind Google. Canalys didn't ...

Google expands in BelgiumZDNet (blog)The facility became operational in 2010, after Google invested 250 million euros in the build. It is the first Google data center that runs through an advanced evaporative cooling system that draws grey water from a nearby industrial canal, keeping ...ZDNet (blog)

Google Play gets a redesignWashington PostCanalys analyst Tim Shepherd said that while Google and Apple are certainly the world's top app stores, the Windows Phone Store and BlackBerry World also offer their own unique appeal to developers. He said, however, that Microsoft and BlackBerry must ...Washington Post

Microsoft Weighs Ending Sesame Street TV Game SeriesWall Street Journal (blog)Microsoft has been publicly promoting the Xbox's expansion beyond its roots in videogames, including by trying to create its own original entertainment programming and working interactive elements into movies and TV shows. The Sesame Street experience ...

Apple's hazy, big-screen iPhone ambitionsCNETVarious analysts who track Apple and mine information from its supply chain are predicting an early summer debut for a new flagship iPhone. Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets is expecting more. He is predicting that Apple will offer the new iPhone ...

What Happens to Executives After They Leave Apple? A Field GuideBusinessweekRubinstein left in 2012; he's now a board member at Amazon (AMZN). Other interesting patterns also stand out. Most of these senior executives took time off after they left Apple. Fadell didn't resurface with Nest for two years after he left Cupertino.

Austin, Texas - Google Fiber BlogBy Google Fiber BlogTwo years ago, we announced that we'd be bringing Google Fiber to Kansas City to show what's possible with super fast Internet access, and since November we've been connecting homes there to gigabit Internet that's 100 times faster than ...

Microsoft's Latest “Scroogled” Ads Attack Sharing Of Information ...By Drew OlanoffThe main difference between Google Play and the Apple App Store is that Google uses its “Wallet” service to process transactions. While it's not a ... Better start your attack against Amazon, Etsy and everyone else on the Internet, Microsoft.TechCrunch » Mobile

Chrome for iOS gets Google Cloud Print, AirPrint and fullscreen ...By Michael GormanIn related news, Google also updated its Search app for iOS with a few unnamed improvements and bug fixes, too. A good day for Google fans with Apple phones, but to reap the rewards of Big G's latest, you'll want to hit the source links below ...Engadget RSS Feed